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Much-delayed Channel Islands Boating Center opens in Oxnard

The doors of Channel Islands Boating Center opened to the public for the first time Wednesday — about 10 years later than originally planned.

The county of Ventura built the 15,000-square-foot, $7 million center at the county-owned Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, using a mix of state, federal, county and private funding. Wednesday’s ceremony marked both a public unveiling and the turning over of control from the county to CSU Channel Islands, which will operate the center on a $1-a-year lease from the county.

Though the center is finished, and the doors were open Wednesday, it won’t actually be open for business until May. It will be home to the university’s sailing team and will also host marine studies classes for students and the community, activities like kayaking and paddle boarding, and sailing lessons for children from the area.